Jeff Dykstra, on the Future of Redemptive Organizations
Hi, I’m Jeff, co-founder of: Partners in Food Solutions — we’re creating a way for corporations to contribute the expertise of their employees to help improve global food security, nutrition, and economic development.
Home base: Minneapolis for 20 years now — and with major food companies like General Mills and Cargill based here, it’s natural home for us. Plus, Minnesota has a long-standing ethos of corporate social responsibility, even before CSR was invented or formalized.
10 years ago, I said: Expertise can be transported virtually. We can make an effective bridge between, say, a food scientist in a General Mills lab in Minnesota and a food entrepreneur in Zambia looking for her expertise. There’s no more “over there” — we’re all part of a connected world.
Today, I say: Business can be a tremendous force for good, especially when companies harness their core competencies. It is so good to see more companies and prominent CEOs recognize the greater role they can play — and publicly commit to all stakeholders, not limited to those who own shares.
Surprising facts: Africa is the only significantly under-leveraged region for food productivity — yet it imports some $40 billion of food annually. Fast forward to 2050, and feeding 9 billion people… our global food security depends on Africa becoming not only food sufficient, which it is fully capable of being, but a net exporter. At Partners in Food Solutions, we’re contributing at the middle part of the value chain: supporting small and growing food companies — 1500 of them — to grow and be as impactful as they can.
An early spark: While living in Lusaka in Zambia, I bought a $6 jar of imported peanut butter — then drove home, past farmers growing peanuts by the roadside. I thought: Hey, why isn’t there a local option? That was an early spark, and in fact, our first client was a Zambian company that wanted to make a good commercial peanut butter!
Trends I’m tracking: 1) We’re witnessing a fascinating evolution of business and its potential as a force for good. 2) Organizations exploring what it looks like to be a redemptive organization— beyond adopting ethical business practices. 3) Africa’s historic brain drain is starting to reverse course. Talented young entrepreneurs who may leave for educations abroad are returning home to create the next wave of enlightened businesses.
On my bookshelf: I just started David Brooks’ new book Second Mountain. Take-away so far: as humans, we can’t avoid suffering — so can we learn to suffer well, to make it redemptive? Also: John O’Donohue’s poetry — I recommend starting with To Bless the Space Between Us.
Advice to my 15-year-old self: Take the long view. Most true innovation comes via different experiences combined in new ways — these experiences take time and patience to develop.
Changemakers who inspire me: Right now, John Sankara and Eddy Gicheru Oketch, both Kenyans. They started Treeco that’s combining agroforestry and food security in a compelling way. And Ndidi Nwuneli in Nigeria who is pushing forward initiatives to help Africa reach its full agricultural potential.
Last time I changed my mind: At a staff meeting — we discussed the teachings of philosopher Martin Buber, and it led to very open and vulnerable conversations. There was a time when I would have said that this is not something you do at work; now I believe work might be the best place for authentic conversations to happen.
Something I want to learn/get better at: Integrating learning, discovery, new information into my day to day practice of doing. I’m coming off a year as a part-time student, so I’m awash with new perspectives, information, data. How do I integrate what’s truly important, in an ongoing way?
Next for this series, I’m tagging: Willy Foote, also an Ashoka Fellow and a partner of ours for a decade. Where we support with technical expertise, Willy and Root Capital step up with critical financing and patient capital to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
Jeff joined Ashoka in 2017. You can read about him and his idea here. And follow his team on Twitter at @PFSCommunity
The interview was condensed by Ashoka. Follow us at @AshokaUS
If you follow our #FutureOf series, you will know that good things come to those who… read til the end! Here’s Harry Potter Jeff on his way to a class celebration last week at Oxford University. (Yes, Jeff got to be a part-time student again, for a year.)
